A few months ago I read a report online about sexual abuse in hospitals. According to data obtained by the Freedom of Information, there have been 6,500 reports of sexual assault and rape that have allegedly taken place in England and Wales since 2019. I was disgusted and horrified, but not shocked. Because it happened to me. When I was a patient in hospital, I’d thought I was safe. I’d thought I was in a place that was caring, compassionate and somewhere that I could recover without fear. But I was very wrong.
In April 2017, I was suffering from depression. Having lost my father to cancer the previous December, juggling being a single mum to two teenagers, Sarah* and Adam*, plus moving to the UK, I’d not been there to say goodbye